My WiFi Is Blocking Websites: How to Unblock Them

The Internet grants you access to a virtually endless library of content, but sometimes you might not be able to access certain websites. It’s well-known that some websites are only available for specific regions.

There are also regions that block websites and/or online services altogether.

However, it’s borderline infuriating when you can’t access a website specifically from your home. No other restrictions are in place; your ISP swears they have nothing to do with it, but still, the website is not accessible.

Why is my Wi-Fi blocking websites?

In some rare cases, the ISP blocks some websites for various reasons. For instance, some state censorship is involved, and the Government reached out to ISPs around the state and enforced their regulations on them.

As a result, some websites/services might become unavailable region-wide. Other reasons for your ISP blocking specific websites would be their very content.

The ISP might block it without prior notice if it doesn’t fall within legal regulations. For instance, your ISP might block copyright-infringement websites, but also ones that promote or condone piracy.

These blocks result in error messages popping on your screen whenever you try to access a page that fits the criteria mentioned above. Wi-Fi users most commonly experience issues like:

• My router is blocking one website
• Suddenly being blocked from certain websites
• Router randomly blocking websites
• Spectrum/ Optimum/ Converged/ TP-Link/ LinkSys/ Netgear/ BT/ Eero blocking certain websites

We’ll walk you through all the scenarios and offer you potential fixes for every situation.

How do I know if my Wi-Fi is blocking certain websites?

Whatever the reason for your inability to access certain websites, you must perform some checks and rule out certain factors before considering a fix. Here’s what you need to do:

• Call your ISP and ask them if they specifically block that website for you
• Check if you can access the same website from another device on your network

If your ISP is, indeed, blocking the service/website, the issue is not on your side. Fortunately, you can circumvent this restriction easily by using a VPN.

Check firewall settings. Misconfiguring might render you unable to access certain services or websites. Our comprehensive article will teach you how to check if your firewall blocks a program or port.

Can’t access the website from one computer but can from another?

If that’s the situation, your initial device might be blocking certain services, either through its firewall/security/parental control software, its DNS configuration, or its hosts file.

However, if you can access it from another device on your network, it means that there’s something wrong with the original device.

There’s another scenario where you can’t access the service from your entire network, but your ISP also has nothing to do with it. In this case, you need to check your router.

How to unblock websites on a Wi-Fi router?

To access any platform from your Wi-Fi connection, you’ll have to look at your configuration and ask yourself why the Internet provider is blocking certain websites.

As mentioned, there are several possible causes to consider, and we’ll take a closer look at all of them in the solutions provided below.

1. If your ISP restricts you from accessing it

1.1 Use a VPN

1. Get a VPN subscription and download the VPN software to your device. We use ExpressVPN because it is very secure and proven to unlock even the strictest platforms.
2. Install it on your PC.
3. Launch it and log into your account using the activation code.
4. Connect to a server in another region (where the website is less likely to be blocked).
5. Try to access the website again.

If it doesn’t work, clear the cache and cookies on your browser and try accessing the website again. It’s well-known that VPNs can circumvent geo-restrictions by spoofing your online identity (IP address, DNS, location).

ExpressVPN is a great VPN service from Kape Technologies that can help you unblock websites easily.

No special configuration is needed, either; you just choose a suitable server and you should be able to access blocked websites in a jiffy.

VPNs such as ExpressVPN hide your IP address, encrypt all of your traffic, and can bypass even the most stubborn firewalls.

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1.2 Use a Smart DNS service (for geo-restrictions)

Many online services got smart and detected VPN traffic without too much effort. That’s why sometimes using a VPN won’t work as intended, especially if it lacks obfuscated servers (ones that bypass VPN blocking).

A Smart DNS service lets you access geo-restricted content by hiding your geo-location. It replaces your DNS address with one of its servers’ addresses, stripping geo-location data from it.

Whenever you use a Smart DNS, all your traffic will be routed through it so that it seems you’re in a whole different location.

The downside of using a Smart DNS instead of a VPN is that it offers no privacy/security. There’s no encryption, your IP address is not hidden, and it won’t help you bypass firewalls.

2. If you can access the website from another network device

In this scenario, it’s very likely that there’s something wrong with your device. Therefore, you need to perform some manual troubleshooting and rule out every scenario where your device might block the website.

➡️ Clear the cache and cookies on your default browser and try accessing the website again

➡️ Restart your PC and try again

➡️ Try accessing the website from another web browser

➡️ If you’re using an ad blocker, disable it and try again

➡️ Disable your browser extensions one by one

➡️ Temporarily turn your antivirus/antimalware program off

➡️ Restart your modem and/or router

➡️ Try connecting straight to your modem or home line

➡️ Use a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi

➡️ Make sure your PC has the correct time and date settings (HTTPS websites might block you for incorrect time/date configuration)

➡️ Scan your PC for malware

➡️ Make sure your firewall doesn’t block the website/service

➡️ Flush your DNS and try using another DNS (Google, Cloudflare) instead of the ISP-assigned one

➡️ Check if you didn’t accidentally block the website with your Hosts file

The first thing to do is to identify the reason why you’re unable to access that website, whether it’s because of your ISP, geo-restrictions, or some misconfiguration on your PC.

2.1 How to flush your DNS

1. Launch the CMD with administrator rights.
2. Type ipconfig /flushdns.
3. Press the Enter key on your keyboard.
4. Close the command prompt.

2.2 How to change your DNS

1. Find a DNS you’re comfortable with (we recommend Google, OpenDNS, and Cloudflare).
2. Launch a CMD instance.
3. Type ncpa.cpl and hit Enter.
4. Right-click your active Internet connection and select Properties.
5. Select TCP/IPv4 and click Properties.
6. Click the Use the following DNS server addresses radio button.
7. Type the two DNS servers in the corresponding fields.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your PC.

2.3 How to unblock websites with hosts file

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Go to the drive where your Windows is installed (usually it’s C:).
3. Access the WindowsSystem32driversetc folder.
4. Right-click the hosts file and open it with Notepad (or your favorite text editor).
5. Make sure there are no lines of text after the comment lines (the one starting with #).
6. Save the hosts file.
7. Restart your PC.

3. If you can’t access the website on any network device

If you ruled out your ISP blocking the website, then this situation usually means something is wrong with your router. In this case, you’ll need to access your router’s admin page and make sure the website is not hard-blocked.

We’ll show you how we performed the check on our router:

1. Launch your browser of choice
2. Go to the default gateway on your network (your router’s address)
3. Switch to Advanced mode
4. Check the Parental Controls section for any blacklist/whitelist rules
5. In the Security section, make sure the website is not on the blocked list
6. After changing the settings (if necessary), restart the router
7. Check if you can access the website now

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How do I unblock access to certain websites

Regardless of why they’re not accessible, websites can often be unblocked. Depending on the situation, you need to isolate the issue and take the appropriate course of action.

For instance, even if a VPN can unblock geo-restricted websites, it might not do much if your device is the one that’s blocking the website. And the same thing applies the other way around.

If a website is blocked by your ISP or geo-restricted, there’s nothing you can change in your PC’s configuration to make it accessible again other than using third-party specialized tools such as a VPN or a Smart DNS.

And don’t forget that you can easily unblock VPN on your school for complete browsing freedom.